Constant beep from switch since power went out

[dannyk65]

Hi all,

The power went out for a few minutes the other day, and when it came back on the left light switch on SwitchLinc Dimmer in my kitchen was beeping nonstop. The right switch is fine and the lights for that work fine, as does the rest of the house.  Under the left switch, I pulled the little nub out to disconnect it, and when I push it back in the kitchen light it controls flickers quickly a couple times and turns off and the beeping resumes.  

In admin console the popup says "Cannot communicate with Kitchen Table (18 1B 3E 1) Please check connections."

Everything else works except "Kitchen Table" which has a red exclamation mark.  I'm not sure what exactly to do in admin console, so I figured I would ask here before trying anything.

Any advice is greatly appreciated...thanks in advance!

Dan 

[Brian H]

Is the SwitchLinc a newer Dual Band 2477D or the older 2476D?

You may want to try a Factory Reset and then a Restore through the Administrative Console. To see if it helps.

The  switch may have also been damaged by the power issues. The light flickering a few times could also be the switch got damaged by a power surge.

 

 

[dannyk65]

Hi Brian - thanks for your reply.

It's an older 2476D.  

When you say "factory reset" do you mean I can reset the SwitchLinc?  if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you please send me a link to the instructions for dummies page? 

Cheers!

  

[lilyoyo1]

7 minutes ago, dannyk65 said:

Hi Brian - thanks for your reply.

It's an older 2476D.  

When you say "factory reset" do you mean I can reset the SwitchLinc?  if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you please send me a link to the instructions for dummies page? 

Cheers!

  

Just Google 2476d manual. It'll show up in Google search

[Teken]

A quick tip with respect to the older Insteon hardware. Remove the bulbs from the load this switch controls while completing the hard reset.

 

After completing the device restore in the AC and once done. Pull the clear set button out wait (10) seconds or more and push it in flush.

 

Replace the bulbs and try the switch.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dannyk65]

Thank you so much for helping me, you guys.  I really appreciate it.  

I took the bulbs out, restored device in AC, then reset the 2476d.  After replacing the bulbs, it works just fine :-).

Thanks again!  Hope you all are well in your neck of the woods.

Dan

[Teken]

1 hour ago, dannyk65 said:

Thank you so much for helping me, you guys.  I really appreciate it.  

I took the bulbs out, restored device in AC, then reset the 2476d.  After replacing the bulbs, it works just fine :-).

Thanks again!  Hope you all are well in your neck of the woods.

Dan

@dannyk65

That's great to hear and just to be clear removing the light bulb normally only applies to the older legacy Insteon hardware. In your situation where the switch is either pulsing or making a beep. Having a load in place will cause the power supply within the unit to continue to cycle over and over again. If you're trying to hard reset and restore the device while its in this odd state nothing will operate as you expect.

Regardless, it's solved so enjoy the week end: Rock On . . .

[MrBill]

1 hour ago, dannyk65 said:

Thank you so much for helping me, you guys.  I really appreciate it.  

I took the bulbs out, restored device in AC, then reset the 2476d.  After replacing the bulbs, it works just fine :-).

Thanks again!  Hope you all are well in your neck of the woods.

Dan

In theory restoring the device in the admin panel and THEN factory resetting it is backwards.  Resetting the device would clear its memory, I suspect you didn't actually get it reset other than power cycled... but if everything works there's no reason to do more at this point.  Normally tho, you would factory reset the device which clears the memory and stored links, then use restore device from the admin console to put the links back.

[apostolakisl]

You should expect to have more issues with this switch.  It very well may last many more years, but it will likely require such reset maneuvers again.  I would consider replacing it or at least having a spare on hand.  I have had almost identical issues in the past and after having every power outage cause issues I finally decided it should just be replaced.  Perhaps hang on until Christmas when SH tends to run their best sales.

[mwester]

What apostolakisl said...

Whenever I encounter an issue similar to this, I mark it in my "Big Book of Insteon Devices" (which is basically a list of devices, insteon addresses, name in the ISY, and the location of same in the house).  If it happens to the same device three times, I replace it with a spare.  If it happens to multiple devices in the same room enough times, or if it's the only device in a room, I'll consider converting that room over to Z-Wave (and I'll put any still-good devices into my spares box).  Like apostolakisl notes, they never get more reliable after something like that happens!

[dannyk65]

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I do have a follow-up question about the switch.  Turning the left switch on/off obviously now works fine on the switch itself, and the switch on the right (turns on different kitchen lights than the switch on the left) wasn't affected by this, but a single switch in the hall used to turn on/off both kitchen switches, but now doesn't affect the left kitchen switch after resetting it.  It only works on the right kitchen switch.  

I have no idea how to re-connect the left kitchen switch to the hall switch, which I definitely liked more when it turned on/off the lights from both left and right switches before I reset the left switch.  I'm assuming it's easy to do in admin console, but I have no idea.

Thanks for the help and great advice in this thread - especially considering plans to replace the switch because issues like this tend to happen more and more frequently after the first instance!

 

[gzahar]

4 hours ago, dannyk65 said:

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I do have a follow-up question about the switch.  Turning the left switch on/off obviously now works fine on the switch itself, and the switch on the right (turns on different kitchen lights than the switch on the left) wasn't affected by this, but a single switch in the hall used to turn on/off both kitchen switches, but now doesn't affect the left kitchen switch after resetting it.  It only works on the right kitchen switch.  

I have no idea how to re-connect the left kitchen switch to the hall switch, which I definitely liked more when it turned on/off the lights from both left and right switches before I reset the left switch.  I'm assuming it's easy to do in admin console, but I have no idea.

Thanks for the help and great advice in this thread - especially considering plans to replace the switch because issues like this tend to happen more and more frequently after the first instance!

 

After resetting the switch, you should have done a restore to put back any scene links that it had (and also allow control from the admin console).

First I would see if you can control the left switch from the admin console (and/or see it status change when you manually switch it).

If that control/status is gone, it definitely needs to have the links restored.  Right click the device in the admin console and select restore device.

If restoring the device doesn't fix it, you may have changed the scene in which the hallway switch was the controller.  Look for this scene (assuming this wasn't being done under program control) and verify both left & right switches are there with the hallway.  If not you will need to add back the missing switch.

[dannyk65]

Ok, thanks gzahar. 

It's weird, when I used admin console to turn on (what I thought was) the left switch (Kitchen 2), it didn't do anything.  But it turned on the hallway switch - the leds were lit to the top - but the actual kitchen light didn't turn on.   

I restored the link and still couldn't affect the left switch/kitchen light from admin console.  But now the hallway switch turns both kitchen lights on/off again, and I can manually turn on the left switch and the light turns on and the hallway switch will turn it off.  In admin console it does say on the right that kitchen 1 is controller for kitchen 2 or something.   I'm confused and don't want to make anything worse haha.

I can just leave it as is because I don't have any programs for lights anyway.  

 

[dannyk65]

Ok another newb question - apologies in advance. 

So the switch that I reset controls a 3 bulb chandelier thing in my kitchen.  Since the reset, when I physically turn on the switch the led on the side goes up very slowly...and when I switch it off it goes down very slowly.  I'm assuming I would adjust this in admin console, but how can I do that if this particular switch is gone and needs to be added back into admin console?

 

[gzahar]

16 hours ago, dannyk65 said:

Ok another newb question - apologies in advance. 

So the switch that I reset controls a 3 bulb chandelier thing in my kitchen.  Since the reset, when I physically turn on the switch the led on the side goes up very slowly...and when I switch it off it goes down very slowly.  I'm assuming I would adjust this in admin console, but how can I do that if this particular switch is gone and needs to be added back into admin console?

 

You definitely need to get it added back to the admin console first.

Then just change the ramp rate setting in the admin console.

Keep in mind, switches that are part of a scene as responders will have a ramp rate set as part of the scene; but the ramp rate for the switch that you are pressing will be set on the device node of that switch.

[dannyk65]

On 8/25/2020 at 2:21 PM, gzahar said:

You definitely need to get it added back to the admin console first.

Then just change the ramp rate setting in the admin console.

Keep in mind, switches that are part of a scene as responders will have a ramp rate set as part of the scene; but the ramp rate for the switch that you are pressing will be set on the device node of that switch.

Ok, i'm trying really hard to get this - thanks for bearing with me.  

There is a managed scene called Kitchen, which lists Kitchen 1, Kitchen 2 and Kitchen Table.  

When I click on Kitchen 1, on the right side of the screen it says:

When I click on Kitchen 2, it says:

 

 

When I click Kitchen Table, it says: 

 

I'm not sure where to go from here.  Is the missing piece what used to be after Membership, Kitchen Table, Is Controller For?  Should there be Kitchen 1 and 2 there?

[gzahar]

You mention a left, right and hall switch in your description; but the admin console shows kitchen 1, 2 and table.

I'm not sure exactly which switches are supposed to be controlling what and what is not working from your pictures.

Describe what is supposed to control what given the 1, 2 and table names.  Which of those was beeping and was supposed to be reset?

Also, do you still have any switches with exclamation point or errors from admin console saying it won't communicate?

Can you manually turn all lights on/off from admin console now?

Also here is the procedure for a factory reset:

Factory Reset clears all user settings from SwitchLinc, including INSTEON scenes, on-levels, ramp rates, X10 addresses, etc.

1)Pull out SwitchLinc Set buttonto create an air gap

2)Wait 10 seconds

3)Push in Set button and hold it. Do not let go.SwitchLinc will begin to emit a long beep

4)When beep stops, release Set button

A few seconds will pass

SwitchLinc will double-beep

LEDs will return to normal brightness

The connected load will turn on

[dannyk65]

I've lived here for over 6 years and this was all set up by the previous owner.  There aren't any programs except for the irrigation system.  I've never had an issue with a physical switch until this kitchen issure; nor have I ever had to map out what the guy who lived here before named all the switches.  

There's an SwitchLinc 2476D in the kitchen, the left switch controlling a chandelier-lamp and the right switch controls the main kitchen lights.  The left switch is the one that was beeping after a power outage and has been factory reset.  Now it physically will turn on/off the chandelier in the kitchen.  

Another SwitchLinc is in a nearby hallway and the left switch would turn on both the chandelier and the main kitchen lights if turned on, and would turn off either/both if they were already turned on in the kitchen.  The right switch controls a little hallway light.

In admin console, turning on Kitchen 1 turns on the main kitchen lights.  Turning on Kitchen 2 turns on no lights, but the led has risen to the top of the left switch in the nearby hallway.  

There's a scene on the left called Kitchen and it has Kitchen 1, Kitchen 2 and Kitchen Table under it.  Turning Kitchen Table on in admin console does nothing.  At this point I've got little idea what to do because I don't even know what the left switch in the kitchen is/was called in admin console.

I truly appreciate your help so much!

Here's a pic:

[dannyk65]

Ok I used a little logic and figured it out :-).  

The switch that was factory reset (left, kitchen chandelier) was obviously Kitchen Table.  The fact it was only a responder to Kitchen 1(main Kitchen lights - I remembered from before the power outage if both kitchen switches were on, this would turn both of them off) and Kitchen 2 (hallway) and not a controller made it obvious.  

(I'll pretend I didn't completely overlook the whole process of elimination in a scene w/ 3 switches - 2 of which I'd identified - only left Kitchen Table).

Thanks again!